Safe kitchens? You make think that your kitchen is already a safe place for family members and friends to gather. After all, we love our kitchens, often they are the heart of your home.  Sharing recipes, entertaining and feeding your own troops is an important part of why we love our kitchens.

However, there are several hidden dangers lurking in your homey gathering place. Parents with young children are often aware of kitchen dangers, but what happens when these same children visit grandma’s house? Here are some reminders on keeping children safe in the kitchen.

• When removing items from the oven, immediately close the oven door. It only takes seconds for a child to touch or climb on the door and receiving severe burns.
• Use back burners when possible. Little hands love to see what’s cooking and will reach up to see what you are doing. Front burners can burn fingers and a reaching hand can pull hot items over.
• Keep all sharp knives well away from kids. Leaving them within reach is a good way to receive a slice hand. A good habit is to place them in the sink or dishwasher immediately after you are done with them.
• Keep your dishwasher closed! It’s easy for a child to climb up on an open dishwasher to see what you are doing. It’s also easy for them to fall onto knives, silverware or fall off of the door or counter.
• If you have easily reachable knobs on your stove, you may want to consider childproof guards that are available.
• Look around your kitchen-if you have foil, wraps or bags within reachable distance of children, place them higher. These items can slice hands or in the case of plastic bags, cause suffocation. Remember children don’t know the dangers.

While you have probably heard of the above safety cautions, you may not have considered things like spices. Many are toxic if ingested in quantity by a child. And those refrigerator magnets are great to use when showing off art work. Just make sure that they are placed high enough so that little fingers don’t get to the magnets. Several children have been injured by swallowing those tiny items.

Keeping kids safe in the kitchen can be easily accomplished in a short time. Just think like a child as you assess your kitchen and all should be well.